After languishing in over a decade of futility, the Royals burst into the playoffs in 2014 -- taking the AL Pennant after a crazy Wild Card win! Then in 2015... TRIUMPH as Kansas City claimed the World Series crown. Their showdown team reflects the Ned Yost era very well -- lots of speed and contact hitters, solid starting pitching, and some BEASTS in the bullpen. I'm excited to start small balling my way through the season, as similar to reality, the Royals have the least expensive team we've seen so far. Moreover, this has been the first All Decade to place a real emphasis on defense, so let's see if the elite infield defense (with some good GB pitching mixed in) makes a difference against all the top level talent! Overall, going to be a fun team to watch go toe to toe with other solid AL Central teams!
Wade Davis was the best of many, many good relievers with this Tier 0 card in 2015.
I love the powder blue jerseys for KC, definitely a top 5 look in the majors in my mind!
Lineup: One of the most unorthodox lineups in the All Decade league, the Royals are prioritizing contact and speed, yet are making due with a single OB 10. However, I mentioned the speed, right? Because there are some blazers on this squad. Whit Merrifield and Lorenzo Cain get things started at the top, both with A speed and OB 9 cards that let them get on early (3 and 4, respectively). They're hoping to quickly get into scoring position for Alex Gordon, an OB 10 whose chart gets better the longer you look at it. Dude gets extra base pop at 14, nothing to scoff at, with plus defense and solid speed. In the clean up spot is, without a doubt, their best hitter -- Jorge Soler, the single season HR record holder for the Royals franchise. What's truly compelling about this card is obviously the 15-20 HR, but don't forget his double at 11!! Definitely going to be an All Star candidate this season. He's followed by another 2019 card in Hunter Dozier, who essentially brings a 2018 Trevor Story card to the hot corner. With a 50% chance of extra base hitting, it's clear the Royals are counting on Soler and Dozier to knock their singles guys in. What they miss, solid hitting Eric Hosmer and Ben Zobrist will attempt to clean up. These solid OB 9 guys also feature good charts with lots of doubles. They're followed by the best Salvi Perez card, a disappointing OB 7 but the guy never had high OBP cards. On the bright side, he's got a +8 arm and can do damage on the rare chart. Rounding it out is the FIRST (and maybe the last?) On Base 6 to make an All Decade team. However, with +5 fielding and incredible A(24) speed, Mondesi was the right choice.... and when he gets on off the opposing pitcher's chart, he'll be running! Plus, guy has a fantastic chart if there's ever a mistake pitch. I've got to note, they're rocking a +11 infield and are a +3 3B guy away from a perfect infield. Sure, it's not the most intimidating lineup, but it's incredibly flexible and has speed littered throughout the impressive extra base hitting!
Should be 560 points
Rotation: I'll be honest, due to their reputation for mediocre starting pitching supported by outstanding bullpen play, I completely underestimated the Royals rotation! Cy Young Zack Grienke is a bonafide and deserving ace for the top of the rotation. He's also the perfect guy to pitch deep and let the bullpen rest! Following Grienke is the rare IP 4 starter, especially in the All Decade league. However, as a Tier 1 with a Control 6, Cueto is the PERFECT number 2 starter to provide just enough juice to turn the game over to the super bullpen! Starting third is workhorse James Shields. Thanks to his poor seasons in Chicago, I'd forgotten what a bellcow Shields was for the Royals. He brings a Tier 2, IP 7 card with 5 Control to the 3 spot -- what a stud! Rounding it out is fan vote winner Yordano Ventura. Ventura tragically passed away in 2017, but we all remember his electric stuff on the mound and his sensational postseason performances for KC. Overall, this rotation is not only filled with great arms, but lines up really, really well for allowing the manager to properly and creatively use the bullpen (aka the team's greatest weapon)!
Bullpen: I don't think anyone is surprised that the Royals primary strength was the bullpen during the 2010s. After all, they basically rode contact hitting and a LETHAL backend of the 'pen to the World Series. Accordingly, KC brings out Tier 0, Tier 1, Tier 1, Tier 1, Tier 2 IP 2 for their All Decade bullpen. Holland is a devestatingly effective closer easily capable of going two innings thanks to a C6, on at 17 with no doubles card that features a huge "no advance" range of 1-10 thanks to his K and PUs. He's followed by the more dominant (but double allowing) Tier 0 Wade Davis -- I know I wouldn't want to face his C5, on at 19 card!! The Royals then have the luxury of two C4, 1-18 pitchers to use prior to the big(ger?) guns, with Herrera being the better option with no doubles. Both Herrerra and Madson have wide GB ranges too, playing into the Royals fielding strengths. Rounding it out is Hochevar, a great IP 2 guy with a high Control. With this bullpen, the Royals can pretty easily (a) pitch all Tier 1 or better innings for Cueto's starts (4 IP Cueto, 1 IP Madson, 1 IP Herrera, 2 IP Davis and 1 IP Holland), especially with Grienke and Shields providing quality 7 inning starts, (b) Easily bring in the bullpen during the 2nd or 3rd inning in a must win game and pitch lights out, (c) finish out any game that a starter gives them 6 innings and a lead. This bullpen is a weapon, assuming the offense can score enough to get them the ball!
Overall, the Royals are MUCH better and more interesting strategically than I anticipated, although they wind up at the bottom of the barrel points wise. KC clocks in at a "paltry" 6570 points -- the first team to fail to cross the 6700 point threshold. However, as discussed above... this team still feels like a contender in the Central. Yes, they lack the big point hitters (outside of Soler) to bolster salary... but so did the real life Royals, and through small ball and a suffocating 'pen, KC hopes to shock the world in the All Decade league too! Here's the current standings:
- Yankees 7920 points
- Nationals 7670 points
- Astros 7420 points
- Blue Jays 7140 points
- Rockies 7090 points
- Mariners 6880 points
- Orioles 6830 points
- Giants 6800 points
- Marlins 6750 points
- Tigers 6710 points
- Royals 6570 points
Damn if this team just had a biiiiit more bite in the lineup they could be filthy. Definitely going to need to play small ball.
ReplyDeleteLineup: 8/9 Merrifield gets the boot in favor of Kenry Morales' 2015 DH card and you slide Zobrist to 2nd.
Soler comes in as the #1 hitter with 6.27 expected runs, followed by Dozier's card that's just over 6 runs. Lorenzo Cain's 2015 card is about a half run behind that and Gordon, Hosmer and Morales all come in between 5 and 5.23 runs. Zobrist is just under 5 runs but Perez is at 3.33 and Mondesi a paltry 2.81. I know they both give defense, and Mondesi gives speed but oof he's an auto pitchers chart for a lot of the guys he'll be facing.
Starters: Cueto comes in as the top dog for me at 5.16 expected runs, ahead of Greinke at 5.43, which I think is just enough of a gap to justify the switch. Shields is third at 6.06 and then I actually have Volquez's 2015 card as the final starter but it's a .02 run differential so not really a big change up.
Relievers: Same cast of characters, but I have Davis' 2014 cart with 6 Control, 16 outs and no doubles as the top dog @ 4.44 expected runs. Holland nad Herrera are both in the 4.60s, with Madson and Hochevar being low in the 5s easily making this a contender for top bullpen out there. This team might not get picked often, but in a draft style there would be a LOT of use from this squad.
Just wait until the Rays bullpen!
DeleteAs of right now, who'd be number one for bullpens: Royals, Yankees, or Orioles?
I'll do a full comparison soon enough, and get really into the numbers
DeleteCurious how/why Cueto lands at 4 IP? Looks like he tossed over 200 innings in 2015 and averaged 6+ as a Royal after getting traded there (not to mention averaging nearly 7 IP before being traded).
ReplyDeleteI completely agree -- if you check out our 2015 Royals, you'll see we gave him an IP 7. However, this card was made by Colby and Co., and their creation process is "set-focused" with specific roles, so Cueto went up two tiers and lost a couple IP for their gameplay each year (I think). But you're completely right, he should be a higher IP (and a Tier 3)
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